St George suffered another setback in their title challenge on Saturday when they lost 0-1 to Wolaitta Dicha.
Dire Dawa City brought some joy to their home fans when they beat Shashemene City 1-0 in the other game.
The lone goal for Dire Dawa City was scored in stoppage time at the end of the first half by their lynchpin, Carlos Damtew.
The win moves Dire Dawa above Hadiya Hossana into eighth place on the log.
Wolaitta Dicha moved above Sidama Coffee into the 11th position.
They were propelled by Zelalem Abate's 80th-minute goal which confines St George in third place.
It was a missed opportunity for the Horsemen who could have been second with either a win or a draw.
It means that Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, on 43 points, will increase the gap to seven points if they win against Sidama Coffee.